The present invention relates generally to vehicle manufacturing tools and more particularly to a spring clip for holding a door open during the manufacture of a vehicle.
During the manufacture and assembly of a vehicle various assemblies must be maintained in a known position to ensure the proper execution of succeeding steps in the process. Until recently, the doors of a finished vehicle were held in an open position by a detent position that is integral to the door hinges. Using a detent position within the door hinges resulted in undesirable squeaking as well as a limited number of stop positions. Therefore, most conventional vehicles now employ a check strap to provide several stop positions for a vehicle door. The check strap, which mounts between the door hinges from a vehicle pillar to the door, includes a pair of elongate bars sandwiched around a metal ball and a spring to provide multiple stop positions.
Although, a check strap provides desirable door operation, the strap complicates the assembly process of the vehicle due to the susceptibility of the spring and ball mechanism to some contaminants. The check strap may suffer degraded performance after exposure to assembly processes that involve applying or using substances that might infiltrate the check strap mechanism. For example, while applying paint to the vehicle, the doors are maintained in the open position exposing the check straps to contamination.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive device that may be used to replace a check strap during the manufacture of a vehicle. Also, it is desirable for the device to maintain a vehicle door open during assembly. Additionally, it is an object to permit the vehicle door to be closed by applying a predetermined quantity of force to the door. Also, it is desirable for the device to be easily installed and removed.
To achieve the foregoing objectives a spring clip is provided for releasably holding the door of a vehicle in an ajar position. The spring clip is adapted to be removably attached to a vehicle body during the manufacturing process. The spring clip is comprised of a base member and a spring finger. The base member includes a pillar tab having a retainer that affixes the spring clip to the body of the vehicle. The door tab of the base member is adapted to slide into an opening in the door. The spring finger is coupled to a base opening that is defined by the base member. The spring finger extends in a cantilever fashion from the base opening into engagement with the vehicle door such that the door is held ajar.
The above described device is only an example. Devices in accordance with the present invention may be implemented in a variety of ways.